HC asks Andhra govt to declare if top Maoist leader RK is dead or alive

The Hyderabad high court on Monday asked the Andhra Pradesh government to declare whether the dreaded CPI (Maoist) central committee member Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna alias RK is dead or alive in the custody of the police.

Dead bodies of 23 Maoists killed in a joint police encounter by Odisha and Andhra police at a forest in Malkangiri .(PTI File Photo)

The Hyderabad high court on Monday asked the Andhra Pradesh government to declare whether the dreaded CPI (Maoist) central committee member Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna alias RK is dead or alive in the custody of the police.

The high court admitted a petition filed by Ramakrishna’s wife Sirisha alias Padmakka, who alleged that her husband was injured in the October 24 encounter in Malkangiri forest of Odisha, and captured by the Andhra Pradesh police.

She expressed apprehension that the police might kill him in a fake encounter after torturing him.

The high court observed that the right to life was applicable to all people, irrespective of whether they were Maoists or common citizens. It wondered why there was so much confusion with regards to the Maoist leader and why so much time was being taken to get the details of the encounter.

Asking the police not to cause any harm to the life of RK, if he was really in their custody, the court posted the case to Thursday for further hearings and directed that the government submit a comprehensive report on the encounter.